Going Steady: New Singles Reviewed 8-31-18 – 9-6-18

BEBE – 6ix9ine, Anuel Aa – No it isn’t “FEFE,” though it has a similar sense of fun only with Latin beats and a different language! – B+

REMEDY – Alesso – This guy is headlining Electric Zoo today, which I was taking a serious look at earlier, along with US Open, and decided against, this is by the numbers EDM pop – C

Relentless – Arkells – Dance music production on an intensely boring rock song – C-

The Other Side (From “Sierra Burgess Is a Loser”) – Betty Who – The Netflix movie looks like fun, it’s about an unpopular girl texting a jock who doesn’t know who she is. The song is sweetly diffident as well, echoey, touchy feely – C+

Love Wins – Carrie Underwood – A truly horrible big country anthem, death is too good for it – MUST TO AVOID – D

Don’t Leave Me Alone (feat. Anne-Marie) – David Guetta, Anne-Marie – EDM guys love voices that are light and airy yet full of character, they don’t overwhelm the song and yet they still give it depth. Like Anne-Marie on this one – B+

Royalty – Francesca Battistelli – CCM gal, this is about as good as you can expect from big Christian ballads, and the hook is as clever as is the entire concept: orphans who become royalty through Jesus – C+

René and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War – Paul Simon – slowed down from the original take on Hearts And Bones, and really the difference is so slight I don’t know why he bothered… still, it is awful pretty – B+

Serious – Russ – In the world of samples I have no clue as to what they are, “Serious” has a doozy, and after “The Flute Song” it is sure welcome – B+

Down in the Depths on the 90th Floor – From “Red, Hot and Blue” – Cole Porter, Renée Fleming, Dan Tepfer, Christian McBride, Carl Allen, BBC Concert Orchestra, Rob Fisher – We eagerly await Renee, continuing to discover how far she can go from opera, on the album: a classicist dealing with the Broadway musical, as performed with the BBC Orchestra and conducted by Rob Fisher. Sounds good to me, as does this single – B+

brighter days – San Holo, Bipolar Sunshine – Talented Danish producer with a very sweet and smart slow builder to a satisfying deconstruction as it builds and loses steam – B

Young as We Are Tonight – Terri Clark – Not bad, it plods a little but by the end of the verse it flys off, the bridge sucks – B-

DTF (feat. YG, Ty Dolla $ign, Jeremih) – The Game, YG, Ty Dolla $ign, Jeremih – The Game always had the skills, a twisty harsh bottom rasp of a voice with extreme flexibility, to be one one of the greats. He didn’t have the imagination and mired himself in too many long albums going nowhere. But in short doses, like here, the man is a terrific rapper… YG is having a good year – B

Going Down Swinging – The Radio Dept. – In which the Swedish band takes on their own alt right as fascism is the new democracy and finds one sleeping target: “Nazis should be dealt with like Normandie, only inbreds join an alt right parade. Someone please tell that to Morrissey” – B-

Bee-Sting – The Wombats – Cmon let’s fess up, all these guys ever had was the Joy Divison one and the rom-com one and this is neither – C

90’s Country – Walker Hayes – Modern day county bubblegum -catchy in a shallow play it again way – B-

Major (feat. Key Glock) – Young Dolph, Key Glock – – Apparently a coupla gun shots couldn’t Young Dolph from drugs and pussy and glocks as he sells drugs and skims 10% off the profits and gave it to the Pastor – B+